Rorouni
by NWDeCamp
Summary: Akane does not survive the fight with Saffron. Ranma is given a chance to bring divine punishment to the divine. This is going to be a crossover with a bunch of different stories.
1. Prologue

I don't own Ranma ½ or any of the other Animés in this story.

Ranma ½ will be the main Animé in this story, but there's going to be a bunch of crossovers.  The first couple of chapters aren't going to have a whole lot of fighting.  They're mostly going to be background and stuff like that.  This is the first story I'm putting out on the internet, and I have no pre-readers, so be gentle.

Prologue

**__**

**_Welcome to the Rest of Your Life_**

            Ranma looked over the valley.  He truly hated it.  It had robbed him of his manhood, and now it had robbed him of his fiancé.  He clenched his fist in anger.  The red aura around him was a warning.  There were few who would knowingly go against the warning.  "Excuse me?"  This woman was one of them.

            Ranma reeled in his aura and turned.  What he saw made him blush.  But that was before he felt her aura.  The red aura was back with vengeance.  Ranma gritted his teeth and spoke. "What do you want, goddess?"  He asked.

            The beautiful woman looked sad.  She bow and spoke softly.  "I know that you do not like my kind.  What has happened to you is an unforgivable crime."  She brought her head back and looked at the boy, nay, young man.  Tears were in her eyes.  "I'm so sorry."

            "Sorry?"  The anger in his voice was unmistakable.  "A god just killed my fiancé!  And all you can say is you're sorry?"  He turned his back on the teary-eyed goddess and looked out on the valley.  "Leave."

            "Kami-sama has sent me to speak to you," She chocked out.  "Saffron was…"

            "IS!"  Ranma yelled.  "He's still alive!"

            The goddess signed.  "Gomen.  Saffron is a rouge god.  Normally gods do not take such an active role in the mortal world.  He…"

            Again Ranma interrupted her.  "Get to the point."  He did not yell, but there was something commanding in his voice the goddess felt compelled to obey.

            "Hai!  My father wants to know," She stopped for a second.  Why?  Maybe it was for dramatic effect.  But I personally believe it was because Ranma decided to turn around again.  His eyes, filled with hate and sadness, ripped into the goddess.  After a second she rediscovered her voice.  "Do you want something like this to happen again?"

            Ranma looked at her like she had grown another head.  Then he replied as calmly as he could.  "Gods should not play with people like this.  We aren't toys."

            "Kami-sama wishes to stop such things from occurring.  Saotome Ranma, will you be one to bring divine punishment upon the divine, demon and god alike?"

            "Nani?"  Ranma cried out.

            **_Hours Later_**

            Ranma frowned at Belldandy as she handed him the katana.  He had initially declined the katana, saying he didn't use weapons.  But the goddess had insisted that he take it.  "Are you sure this is goin' work?"  He asked.  With a snap he placed the two metal bands on his wrists, seals to help him train (or so Belldandy had said).

            Belldandy nodded and gave him a reassuring smile.  "Positive.  The curse makes you practically immortal; and the bands give you control over it and the Neko-ken.  Father said that you will be traveling through five alternate realities and go into the past twice.  After that your training will be complete and you'll come back here."

            "So how long will I be gone?"  He asked as he tightened the binding around his waist and placed the sword through it.

            Belldandy thought for a second then spoke.  "Around 15,000 years."

            Ranma nearly fell over.  "15,000 years?"  He muttered.  "What about everybody here?"  He screamed.

            Belldandy giggled.  ("He's so cute when he's upset.")  She tried to calm him down.  "It will be 15,000 years for you.  But it will be almost instantaneous for us."

            Ranma frowned.  "You could've said that in the first place."

            "Perhaps."  Belldandy smiled.  "Are you ready?"  Ranma nodded.  Belldandy concentrated and held her hands out towards Ranma.  Underneath his feet a star with six points appeared.

            "How many times have you done this?"  Ranma asked out of curiosity.

            "None."  Ranma began sweating.  "Don't worry.  Father would not have chosen me if I could not do this."  Ranma nodded just before a surge of magical energy flared up from under his feet.  In a flash of white light he was gone.  Not even a minute later a different Ranma appeared in the middle of the star.  He was dressed in clothing befitting a peasant.  At first glance the only difference, aside from his clothing, was the fact that his bangs were longer.  The bangs of this Ranma reached down to his eyes and appeared to disrupt his vision.  There was another difference, but it was not one that could be seen with the eyes.  This difference was one that could only be seen by someone like Belldandy.  Ranma was emitting power like he was overflowing with it.  "Daijoubu?"  Belldandy asked.

            Ranma's body was covered in a white light.  When it disappeared he was dressed in the red Chinese shirt and black kung fu pants he had been wearing when Belldandy had first met him.  Ranma grinned.  Not the cocky grin of the martial artist he once was.  No, this was the confident grin of the man he had become.  "So who's first on the list?"  He asked as the seals on his arms lit up with a fiery light.

****At that same instant, in a place where time means nothing and yet means everything, a certain green-haired Senshi was getting a major migraine.  She knew immediately what that kind of pain meant.  ("Someone is messing with Crystal Tokyo.")  And there was only one thing to be done with people who messed with the future…kill them.


	2. Making a Clean Break from the Past

I don't own Ranma ½ or any of the other Animés in this story.

Chapter One

**__**

**_Making a Clean Break From the Past_**

**__**

            Tendo Soun wept bitterly as his little girl was set into the ground next to her mother.  He turned to his friend, Saotome Genma.  "I've failed them Genma."  He looked back to the graves.  "In the end, I couldn't help either one of them."

            Genma looked at Soun with a confused expression.  "What could you have done, Tendo?"  Soun stopped crying almost immediately.  "Your wife died of disease, an enemy you could not fight with your fists.  And Akane died at the hands of a god."

            Soun dwelled on his friend's words.  "Oyagi's right," A voice said.  Soun turned to it and was surprised to see Ranma looking into his eyes.  The young man's blue eyes were like ice.  It did not take a genius to realize Ranma was using the Soul of Ice to control his emotions.  "You did everything you could have.  You loved them like a husband and father should.  Now you must concentrate on what you have left."

            "What I have left?"  Soun asked.

            Ranma nodded.  "Nabiki and Kasumi."  Soun turned and beheld his crying children.  They were both kneeling at the graves.  "They need you to be their father; they need your support.  They don't need a ball of nerves; they don't need someone who blames himself."  Ranma turned from Soun and beheld the grave of his beloved.  "If anyone is to blame it is Saffron and me."

            "No," Genma shook his head.  "The blame is Saffron's and Saffron's alone.  You did everything you could have done to save her.  You killed a god, boy!  You pushed yourself beyond your limits.  It is a miracle that you survived."

            Ranma balled his hand into a fist and growled.  Just then Nabiki and Kasumi stepped up to him.  He bowed his head and said, "I'm sorry.  I…"

            Nabiki cut him off.  "Shut up Saotome."  Ranma looked up into the sad eyes of the Ice Queen and nearly lost control of the Soul of Ice.  "Just tell me…did you do everything you could have done to save her?"

            Ranma was slow in answering so Genma decided to answer for him.  "Of course he did!  He killed a god and destroyed a mountain!"

            Nabiki turned her gaze to Genma.  "Shut up.  I didn't ask you.  I asked Ranma."  She turned back to Ranma, who had his head bowed again.  "So Saotome, did you do everything you could to save her?"

            Then something happened that no one present thought they'd ever see.  Saotome Ranma, a man amongst men, cried.  There weren't a whole lot of tears, but it was the action itself that was shocking.  The Ranma that they had known before Saffron didn't cry.  But this Ranma did.  He looked up at Nabiki with his teary eyes.  "I've gone over the fight a million times in my head.  I've looked at it from every angle, every point of view.  I keep thinking I missing something.  That there's something I'm not seeing that would have given me the advantage I needed.  But for the life of me, I can't find it.  Saffron wasn't a martial artist.  He was a god.  He was just too god damned powerful.  In the end, I guess I did everything I could."

            Nabiki nodded.  She then threw her arms around Ranma and wept.  "That's all I wanted to know."  Kasumi and the rest soon joined them.

            Sailor Pluto looked at the Gates of Time and frowned.  For the life of her she could not understand it.  Something was affecting the Time Gates so much that the future was actually closed to her.  There was nothing but static.  But everything she looked into the past to find out what had caused the damage, she would come up empty.  Whatever was doing the damage either had some major power or had some major allies.  All in all, Pluto was stumped.  But she had to inform the others if something was to be done.

            "Very interesting," Washu said to herself.  She was looking at the readings her satellites had gathered and was impressed, to the say the least.  Whatever had come into this world in China earlier that week was powerful.  Powerful enough to take out anyone she know without breaking a sweat.  No that wasn't exactly right, she corrected herself.  She had no way of knowing how powerful Tenchi or Sunami really were.  Then again, she had no idea if this thing was showing all of its power.

            Ranma slammed his fist down on the table and cried out, "I ain't marrin' a Tendo, and that's final!"

            The Saotomes and Tendos all flinched at Ranma's outburst.  This was a side to him they had rarely seen.  Ranma was actually taking control of his life.  "It is a matter of honor boy!  You must marry a Tendo!"

            Ranma turned to his father.  If looks could kill Genma Saotome would have been six feet under.  "I will not put them in the same danger that Akane was put in."  His voice was low and his tone was serious.

            "You have no say in the matter boy!"  Genma yelled once again.

            Ranma decided to try another angle.  He turned to his mother.  "Okaasan, please understand, I can't marry a Tendo."

            Nodoka looked up at her manly son and smiled.  Ranma smiled as well, praying that his mother would be on his side.  "While I understand your reasons for not wanting to be engaged to a Tendo, your father is correct.  This is a matter of family honor.  You cannot turn it down."

            Ranma signed.  He turned and looked at Nabiki and Kasumi.  Neither one of them had said a word during the time the discussion had been going on.  He glanced at Soun out the corner of his eye.  It looked like he was in deep thought.  ("We've got him now!")  Genma thought in triumph.  ("There's nothing the boy values more than honor.")

            "If that is the way you fell, then I guess I have no choose."

            "Good.  Now who will it be?"  Genma asked.

            Ranma stood to his full height.  "Neither of them."

            "Nani?"  Nodoka cried out.

            "Have you no honor boy!"

            Ranma turned to his father and barely controlled his rage.  "You're a fine one to talk about honor, Oyagi!"  He turned and beheld the two girls near him before turning back to his father.  "I value honor very highly.  But I value life more!  I will not put them in any danger!"

            "Then you will have to commit seppuku," Nodoka reminded him.

            "I will not commit suicide for the mistakes of Oyagi!  I renounce the Saotome name and the dishonor that goes with it!  From this day forth I am Ranma and only Ranma!"

            "You can't do that boy!"  Genma yelled out.

            "You goin' stop me?  I'm sure you don't want me ta take this to the courts Oyagi!"  Without uttering another word Ranma got up and went upstairs.  A moment later he returned with his pack.  "I'm leavin'."

            Genma and Nodoka were still too stunned to say anything, so Nabiki spoke for them.  "Where will you go?"

            "A couple a friends a mine's already offered to let me stay with 'em.  So I'll stay with them for a while."  He gets up to leave.

            "I'll walk you out," Soun says.  

            "Ranma?" Soun starts once they are outside.

            "Yes Tendo-san?"

            "I want you to know that what you did back there was very brave.  And…and you'll always be welcome here."

            "Arigatou Tendo-san."

            "I have one thing to ask of you before you leave."  Ranma nods.  "Will you take up the Tendo name?"

            Ranma is shocked, to put it mildly.  "Nani?"

            Soun walks forward and gazes up to the sky.  "Ranma, I have no heir.  Akane was going to take over the dojo, but she's gone.  I want you to take up the Tendo name and become my heir."

            "Are you sure?"

            Soun turns back to Ranma.  He smiles and nods.  "I could think of no one better to be my heir.  To protect my daughters you threw away something that was very important to you."

            "Give me a day.  I've still got some stuff to do before I head to my friends' place."

            "Agreed.  I'll await your answer," Soun says.  He and Ranma exchange a bow before Ranma turns and leaves.

            Ukyo frowns as she looks outside.  "It was so nice out earlier."  She turns back to the grill.  "Then these clouds came out of no where."

            "Stuff like that seems to happen when I'm around," A voice says from the entrance.

            Ukyo smiles.  ("I know that voice!")  She turns to the door.  "Ranchan!"  She exclaims happily.

            "Hello Ucchan," Ranma says.  The emotionless tone and the lack of a smile are the most important things to Ukyo.

            "You hungry?"  Ranma sits down.  "Daijoubo Ranchan?"

            Ranma looks up at Ukyo.  "Ucchan what I'm about to say will probably make you hate me, but I have to say it."  He waits for a second.  "I'm leaving Nerima, probably forever, and I'm ending all of my engagements."

            Nearly two hours later Ranma enters the Nekohanten.  "Airen!"  Shampoo cries out as she leaps towards the young man (who is actually older than she is).  Ranma, however, does not react like he normally does.  Instead of having Shampoo latch onto himself, he moves to the side.  Shampoo crashes into a nearby table.  "Why Airen move?"  She asks.

            "'Cause I didn't want ya to jump on me," Ranma says in perfect Mandarin.

            "Husband can speak Mandarin?  Why didn't you tell me?"

            ("I don't have time for this,") He thought.  "Shampoo, I've come ta talk to the old ghoul."

            Just then, Cologne hopped onto the counter.  "And what do need, son-in-law?"

            "In private."

            Cologne eyed Ranma for a moment.  Then she nodded to Shampoo.  Shampoo took the hint and left.  "Now then, you were going to say?"

            "I'm leaving Nerima.  I want you to leave me alone.  Know that I will not marry Shampoo, and if you continue to push her onto me I will not be happy."

            "Is that a threat boy?"  Cologne asked.

            "I don't do threats, only promises," He said as he began to walk out of the café.

            "Know this, we will not stop.  You will marry Shampoo."

            Ranma frowned and turned back around.  "My patience is wearing thin.  If you continue I may not be as merciful as I have been in the past."

            Cologne smiled.  "I look forward to seeing you fight all out.  But you and I both know that you will not harm my great granddaughter or myself.  Or rather you can't.  You can't hit a girl.  And you can't beat me."

            Ranma's frown continued to show on his face.  Finally after a moment of sharing at Cologne he turned.  "Things change, child," He said as he left.

            "Child?"  Cologne wondered aloud.

            Ranma smiled as he looked at his new home.  ("You can tell Belldandy lives here.  This place practically screams out peace and happiness.")  Ranma slowly made his way up the stairs to the shrine.


	3. Going Home Again

I don't own Ranma ½ or any of the other Animés in this story.

I revise this chapter a little after reading a review.  I originally had Ranma accept Soun's offer to take up the Tendo name.  But someone pointed out the fact that if he did that Ranma would be putting the Tendos in danger.  So I'm changing it so he does not accept.

****

Chapter Two 

**__**

**_Going Home Again_**

            Keiichi signed as he looked down at the paper in front of him.  It wasn't that he hated school, but he never really liked science that much, unless it dealt with something like a combustible engine or something like that.  A knock on the door pooled him out of his studies.  "I'll get it!"  He called out.  Belldandy was busy cooking, Skuld was doing something scientific, and Urd was doing Kami-sama knows what.  So that left him.  ("Belldandy said something about a friend of her father's stopping by.  I wonder if that's him or her.")  He signed in frustration.  ("Great, another God or Goddess, that's all I need.")  Keiichi opened the door and was a bit surprised to see a boy, about his age, standing there.  The one thing that surprised Keiichi more than anything else was the noticeable lack of the 'God Marks' on the boy's forehead.  ("Human?")

            "Ah, hello?"  Ranma asked as he scratched the back of his head.

            His words brought Keiichi back to the reality.  "Gomen, what can I do with ya?"  He asked.

            "I'm looking for Belldandy.  She kinda said I could stay at her place for a while," Ranma said.  ("More like indifferently.") He silently added.

            Keiichi arched an eyebrow at the boy's words.  ("Belldandy's friend is mortal?")  He thought.  A bit of jealousy crept into Keiichi's mind as he looked over Ranma.  ("He's better build and more handsome than I am.")

            "Kei-san?  Who's at the door?"  Belldandy asked from the kitchen.

            "It's me, Belldandy!"  Ranma called back.

            "Oh, Ranma-dono!"  She quickly made her way into the entryway and bowed politely to Ranma.  He returned the gesture.  "I was wondering when you'd get here.  Come let me show you to your room."  She led Ranma away by the hand.

            "Ah, I'll see ya later," Ranma said to the young man who opened the door.

            Ranma signed and sat down his pack.  With a loud crunch and crash it fell through the wooden floor.  He looked around and noticed that no one has come to see what the noise was.  He signed  "The weight's too much for the floorboards.  I'll have to leave it outside."

            Ranma headed towards the entryway.  "So you the guy dad got?"  A voice asked him.

            Ranma closed his eyes for a second then spoke.  "I am."  He turned to the voice.  "And what about it, Urd Goddess of the Past?"

            Urd was taken back by his words.  ("So he knows who I am?")  She composed herself before speaking.  "Don't get too cocky.  Just 'cause you know my name don't mean you're any good."

            Ranma grinned evilly and tossed his bag to Urd.  "Catch."

            "Wha?"  Urd caught the bag with one hand.  But its weigh is unbelievable.  After struggling to carry it, she dropped it to the floor.  The bag promptly went through the floor.  Urd looked up at Ranma.  He was still grinning.  "You just surprised me, that's all."

            "Right," Ranma said.

            Urd humped and positioned herself above the bag.  "If you can do it so can I!"  She grabbed it with both hands and heaved with all her Godly might.  But she could barely move the bag.

            Ranma humped, much like Urd had done, and lifted the bag without any problems.  His grin did not fade as he turned and moved to put the bag outside.  "So Urd, did your father choose well?" He asked.  Urd, for her part, fumed.

            Rei signed as she looked around her room.  ("Ami's studying, check.  Makoto and Minako are talking about boys, check.  And Usagi's reading my Manga, check.")  Everything was normal.  But it wasn't.  ("I can't shake this feeling that something's wrong.  I just can't figure out what it is.")

            "I have bad news," A voice said.

            "Ahhhhh!"  Usagi screamed out.  She jumped about five feet into the air and then spun to face the voice.  "Don't do that Setsuna!"

            "Bad news?"  Rei asked.

            Setsuna nodded.  "What kind of bad news?"  Ami asked.

            "The kind that could affect Crystal Tokyo."

            "What do you mean?"  Rei asked.

            "I am sure that you have felt something," Setsuna said.  She turned to Rei and received her answer, a nod.

            "Hai, I've been feeling something," She stopped and tried to find the correct word.  "I guess you'd said, odd.  It's like there's a disturbance in nature."

            "That is an accurate description."

            "So what's this 'disturbance'?"  Usagi asked.

            "I do not know."

            "Nani?"  The girls cried out.

            "What'd you mean you don't know?"  Minako cried out.

            "Whatever the disturbance is, it has the power to disrupt the Time Gates and Neptune's Mirror.  As of now, I do not know what or who it is.  The damage it has caused to the time stream is also unknown."  Setsuna turned to Ami.  "I would like you to use the Mercury Computer to see if there is anything unusual around Japan, Tokyo in particular."

            "But if the Time Gates and Neptune's Mirror won't work, why use the Mercury Computer?"  Ami asked.

            "We must hope that science can succeed where magic has failed."

            "What are we going to do?"  Genma asked.  Silence was his only answer.  He finally turned to his wife.  "Well?"

            "There is nothing we can do.  Saotome Ranma is no more," She said.  She looked at the sword at her side and signed.  ("Did Ranma have the right idea?")

            "The boy must marry a Tendo!  It is a matter of honor!"  He thought for a second before an idea came to mind.  "I might not be able to go to the courts and force him back into the family, but you can!"  He pointed towards Nodoka.

            "I will decline," She said with a sign.

            "Nani?"

            "What Ranma did was a very brave and manly thing.  He chose to throw away his name in order to protect Nabiki and Kasumi.  I will respect his decision."

            "But…but…the pledge!"  He cried out.

            Nodoka turned to Genma, anger clearly visible in her eyes.  With one swift movement she has her katana at Genma's throat.  "The pledge is dead!  Your desire to unite the schools has all but destroyed any chance I had to live happily with my son."

            ("She moved so fast and with such skill!  Nodoka never did that before!")  Genma thought.

            "You are wondering were this skill came from, aren't you?"  She asked.  Genma nodded, making sure that he didn't touch the katana.  "I was taught by my father."

            "You haven't talked to your father since we got married!  You never showed any skill with the sword around me or the boy," Genma said.  He was very nervous.  The katana was dangerously close to his neck now.  "You always acted as if you couldn't use the sword."

            " 'Acted' is a good word to use, husband."  She re-sheathed the sword in one swift motion and turned away from Genma.  "I am going to return to my father.  Even if I haven't talked with him in years I need him now."  She turned back to him for a moment and said, "Pray that the next time I see you I am still your wife."

            "I don't like it, but dad said I'm your backup," Skuld said.  "Here."  She handed Ranma a pair of sunglasses.

            "Sunglasses?"  He asked.

"Put 'em on!"  She ordered.  Ranma did as she said.  "They might look like normal sunglasses, but when you activate them they turn into a computer."  She got up and touched a small button near the right side of glasses.  Figures immediately began appearing on the lens.  "We can talk to each other through the glasses, and they can calculate the amount of energy being given off by person.  But."

"But they can't tell how much power a person's finding, right?"  Ranma asked.

            "Right.  They can also help locate gods, goddesses, demons, and more or less anything that's supernatural."

            "Skuld, you do know that I can sense just about anything supernatural in Tokyo if I try, right?"  Ranma asked.

            Skuld arched an eyebrow.  ("Either he's kindin or he's really good.")  She shrugged.  "Maybe, but with this you can relax and let it warn you about someone attackin ya."

            "Relax?"  Ranma asked.  "I cannot relax as long as there are gods playing with human lives."  With that said Ranma got up and went to his room.


End file.
